Moving On
by demon-hell-fire
Summary: NOT ENOUGH FAN FICS. Loved this movie. Had to make a little continuation, hope you appreciate it and more people post some Arrietty/Sho. God. Awesome movie, am I right? I'll shut up now. Rated M for SUGGESTIVE 'jokes', no lemons or crazy stuff for you.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I noticed there were FIVE fan fics... ish. But still, not enough. I had to post one, and I'll probably post more chapters. Also, anyone wondering about my other fics... (if you happen to read this) my NoodlexMurdoc is going to end. I figured it all out at work whislt bored :D**

**and my ArtyxHolly? Still not sure about that, but i got a few ideas. **

**And about THIS v Ive got ideas too, so don't fret. Its nooot a oneshot.**

Forever. It was a very, very long time. After all, it had only been a year since Sho had practically yelled that he'd never forget her. He hasn't. In fact, she... er, ALL the Borrowers tend to pop into his mind on a regular basis. Every fleeting moment when ever he wasn't occupied with something, (which, due to the recommendations of the doctor, he had best stay with his Great Aunt from time to time, somewhere stress free, blah blah blah) it was focused solely on Arrietty.

He sighed. He missed the shy little girl. A _lot._ He didn't know why, but he was sure it was for reasons he really didn't care to think about. The reason didn't matter. The Borrowers were gone. For good. Of course, they couldn't have really gotten too far, and he had though of that.

He remembered looking ever day he went out to 'enjoy the day,' hoping to catch the tiniest of a glimpse of red flashing about. He never actually did, but in his mind's eye, it was there. Taking things the humans would never miss.

Of course, this left an unfamiliar pain in his heart every time he thought about it. A crushing, twisting feeling in his gut that could never get rid of, no matter how hard he tried.

Of course, he was just being selfish. As long as humans were in the lives of the Borrowers, there would be dire consequences to follow, and despite how much he wanted just to protect Arrietty, things similar to what had happened just a year ago would surely repeat.

But he didn't particularly care. At all. He never did care in the first place. He just wanted to see them. Know them. Protect them. Protect her.

He sighed again.

**Forever was LONG.**

000

The little person in question was in fact, not in need of protection. Never wanted it in the first place, but Sho had grown on her anyway.

She was sitting in her 'room.' Arrietty was still sort of depressed about leaving what seemed like the greatest home, just like her mother. Her father, on the other hand, was content with the fact that they were _safe. _That was the important. They were fine.

To an extent, anyway.

Arrietty's father had definitely noticed her change in attitude. His wife was easy to read, being rather flamboyant with her emotions, always complaining half-heartedly about their 'kitchen,' which consisted of less than a quarter of the original little conveniences.

But Arrietty herself spent a large amount of time _by _herself. She secluded herself from her family almost immediately, not even wanting to confront them after they made her leave Sho. She felt safe with him, so it was ridiculous to move for the sole reason of safety. It was just a stupid misunderstanding! But...

She wasn't stupid. She, over time, got over her seclusion phase, and continued life normally. Her father had just wanted to do the same thing Sho did. Protect.

But what was Sho's reasoning for protecting her? She blushed at the thought that it might be the same reason that her father did it – _love_. She blushed even more furiously, pulling her knees to her face to hide it, and a slight grin that she couldn't hold back.

She was sitting on her bed, made of a little yarn cloth and hay. It was scratchy and slightly uncomfortable at first, but it was awesomely warm during the coldest nights.

Sho made a much warmer bed, she assumed. The time she had spent in direct physical contact with the human, she had learned that their temperature was very, very warm. And, suddenly, her face followed the temperature in persuit as she pulled her knees up higher. She missed him.

"Arrietty, come out for dinner!" Her mother called cheerfully.

All thoughts about the past aside, she hopped up and jogged out of her room, yet again, like every other day, preparing to continue as if nothing ever happened. As if it didn't matter. But it didn't, right? Of course not. She had her mother. Her father. Heck, she even had Spiller from time to time, the adorable, muscular man who would drop by every few days.

Spiller sort of had a thing for her, but he was even shyer than her, and would never admit to such a thing. Plus, he had told her once, that he was technically "with another. Pretty. Like you, but different."

He touched her arm with his index and pointer fingers, then to his own.

"Colour." He did the same with her hair. "Colour. Yours is nice too though!" He said with a large grin. Then he pointed to her eyes. "Colour, and a little less..." he paused, unsure of what the best descriptive word was, "... soft. Lived a similar life." He grinned again. "But different."

"Some men have many pretty women," he said another time, with an eyebrow raised, suggesting something, but not really expecting an answer. "Not just one. One's common though, no complaining, no one is unhappy unless..." he paused, the word creating a bad taste in his mouth and he glanced at Arrietty. The look on her face was one of sadness, and the last word he said that day was the reason, "alone."

Spiller was just a friend. And for now, a friend, a mother, and a father, was all Arrietty had. All she needed. Just... not all she wanted.

Well... dinner with the family was good at least!

**A/N YAY, that was fun. They'll meet later, I promise. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Too excited to resist posting another chapter. Plus... think I'll watch the movie again. It was good, but my patience MAY not be able to cope... Either way, hope this chappy is good, I don't know how regularly I'll post, but the angst SHALL CONTINUE! HAHAHAHAH... im not insane.**

Sho walked the gardens slowly, smelling the light breeze brushing his face. Suddenly, everything here seemed as boring as it had been the first day he had stood in them. The colours less bright, the wind less refreshing. He wasn't looking hopelessly for anything anymore. He still longed to see her, sure, but looking was pointless.

Instead, the nostalgia seemed good enough to sate him. The shadow of the real deal. He walked for the sake of walking, not... not some other reason. He wondered for a brief moment if he should run right then. He could run now, easily, couldn't he? Of course he shouldn't, he knew that, but his heart might not feel the emotional pain if forced to go through the exertion he was specifically advised against.

An old pain to mask the new?

Now he _really _wanted to run, long and hard, for what he concluded was 'no reason.' Everything felt tense, wrong, lonely... painful. He clenched his heart for a moment, a 'new' pain, not the same as long ago. Long ago, he mused, was really, really not that long.

Forever was long. Every week was long. Every day was too long for him.

His aunt and mother were having tea up front. They would never know if he disappeared for an hour, maybe two. Running in search of something so small, yet so significant, suddenly seemed very plausible to Sho, if anyone would be able to find the thing he longed for, for 'no reason,' it would be him.

000

Arrietty was out foraging in the forest for things that would, on a miniature scale, be considered uniquely salvageable to their standards. Her home was built in the core of the bottom of a tree, an old raccoon nest that already had a few 'supplies' that had been taken from the humans by it's previous owner.

The new home wasn't, by human standards, ridiculously far, a twenty minute, maybe half-hour walk (at a brisk pace) into the forest. After the little brook they had ridden down in the brass pot for an hour, it was another 3 hours of very, very, slow and careful trekking through the forest away from the humans.

And, as far as Pod had been concerned, away from danger. Whenever humans were involved, it just didn't work out. Friendly or not, nothing good ever truly came from their actions.

Arrietty thought about her Father's annoying stubbornness. Though his judgement was solid and reliable, she was confident in Sho and his family, minus, of course, the maid. The damn woman had tried to kidnap and exterminate her family, after all. The exact example, word for word, that Pod had used when Arrietty had had it out with him a few months back, during her attempt to defend Sho.

She had done that a few times, actually, typically whenever the slightest mention of humans combined with a negative comment was brought up. Not _all _humans were bad.

Arrietty wouldn't even trust herself if somehow Sho had turned out to be 'bad.'

"Don't be silly, dear," her mother said when she had said something similar to that, "He is, after all, a human. I heard a saying once, something along the lines that the definition of humanity was error. When I was younger, I used to Borrow as often as your father, and the owner of the building said something like 'To err, humane,' scolding her sister, I think."

Sighing and hopping down carefully from her perch in a tree after collecting an acorn, (the top half would make an excellent hat for Spiller, his 'Day of Birth' celebration was coming up, a custom the humans had, and he loved the idea of it immediately. A party, all for him? His grin was enormous. And, he had been constantly complaining about the rain recently, every day he decided to show up poured and poured relentlessly, forcing him to glide back to his own home and ensure the safety of his family.

THUMP THUMP THUMP. A loud, earth-shattering thunder ripped through the woods as what was _definitely _a human ran with heavy, clumsy footing, full sprint, into the direction of the tree she was half-way down the trunk of, and it was a long climb back up to cover. And an even longer fall down.

Arrietty panicked, unsure of the next best move. Her eyes wide, she shuffled along to try and hide behind the tree, in a sense, and hope the human just continued it's... _his,_ it seemed, running.

With a few agile leaps, she was behind cover in seconds, long before the human reached her, and she sighed in relief, knowing there was no way he would have seen her. But, as she got her footing on a knot, the acorn fell from her hands, and she growled, aggravated.

'What else could go wrong,' would have been her next thought if she hadn't hear the human stop running and slump against the tree she was on. So she froze, even more so than before, and listen to the heavy, pained breath of the human on the other side of the tree as she held her own breath.

000

After tripping several times, but refusing to go down, Sho finally came to a harsh halt. _Now_ he felt alive. _Now_ he wasn't bored. The pain in his heart was that of a harsh thumping, not the pain of an over-emotional teenager. Puberty was no fun, he knew, and being a completely secluded cripple never did help his popularity at his school, minus the kindness of pity he received.

He coughed violently as his lungs tried to catch up with the required blood being improperly pumped through his body. This was just fantastic! This pain was life! He chuckled and doubled over, holding his expanding chest.

After a moment, he slumped against the tree, ready to sit here for at least a half hour before heading back.

Little did he know, the little, adorable girl on the other side of the tree, had to resist a groan, having heard him slump over. Her home was in the same general direction he had come from.

That, it seemed, was what could go wrong. But of course, she didn't know the last thing to go wrong with her day was the fact that it was the cause of her pointless unhappiness sitting against the tree.

Sho coughed again, this time extremely violently, his whole body shaking rigorously with each cough. He clutched his stomach in pain for a moment, then inhaled and exhaled shakily, calming himself and his body down before lightly smacking his head against the tree.

He felt extremely childish, really. Running in no particular direction out of some selfish, pointless need for someone that... _really... _it couldn't work with. Ever.

How would he kiss her? How would he hug her? His only available arson for love, (he blushed at the word coming across his mind) was his words and support. Would that really be enough? Would he be good enough for someone a few inches tall? Not likely.

Arrietty, on the other hand, was beginning to become curious about exactly what reason the human had for relaxing in the middle of no-where, far from anywhere, alone. She inched back around the tree.

**A/N AHAHA, Cliff hangarrrrrrr, hur durrr. I'm a terrible person, and my writing sucks. Weehee! Anyhow, they do meet, as your going to see, probably tuesday or friday. I work and have school for EVERY. OTHER. HOUR. INBETWEEN. So no writing then. Including tomorow, in six hours. So I should sleep. Hope you enjoyed :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N AHAHA, FREEDOM. No work tonight, so homework after I finish this. And, to be honest, I'm not 100% where I'm going. (SKIP THE REST OF THE A/N, IM THANKING/RESPONDING TO ALL COMMENTS IN CHAP. 2)**

**Fluffy – Yeah, I was more into it this time. I tend to be choppy and random at times, simply because my fingers flow with my thoughts, sometimes so much that the story stops making sense to people who can't keep up with it. Thanks for the Critique.**

**Sunrise – Yeah... it sucks. But the greatest of authors hate their own work the most.**

**Darkness – I love doing cruel things like that. The waiting is fun. And I too can sympathize, though not completely. Sympathy is often the key to relation.**

**Heero – I WISH I did the movie justice. I'm re-watching it immediately after I finish the chapter... maybe in the middle of it. **

**THE REAL STORY :D**

Pod continued his search for Arrietty. She hadn't come back for a while, though she was constantly getting back later and later, venturing farther and farther, and he was getting nervous. She claimed it was in search for some materials, and that her radius of search needed expansion.

He seriously doubted that.

As he foraged carefully and swiftly through the forest – it was essentially no different than sneaking through the world of man – he thought to himself that surely, she would move on. Surely she would adapt. Some things just had to be done. Precautions taken. Tough decisions made.

Pod knew, in the end, what she did not. Pod knew she loved the human. He knew that he was, essentially, dangerous. And he also knew that her love combined with her independence could be dangerous. So he put his down and ensured their safety, together, as a family. That was what mattered most.

So he pushed forward until he found her, perched high up in a tree, scared and stiff, unwilling to move. And he also saw the looming shadow of a human, who's chest was heaving heavily. Had it been chasing her? Had it seen her? He frowned and picked up his pace towards the tree as his curious daughter began inching closer to the human.

000

She _had _to know. She would be careful, she would be safe about it. She might even learn something from him. Definitely a 'him,' she noted, hearing the husky growl from his slight pant. Something about it seemed... drawing. Like a heat inside her that got larger and larger as she neared him.

Part of her was afraid, honestly. She knew it couldn't be Sho. She wanted him to be Sho, so, _so _badly, but she was afraid it wasn't, afraid her hope would be crushed by the human, unbeknownst to him, _just _because it wasn't Sho.

But the fear was stomped quickly by two things. Her curious and adventurous attitude and care for seemingly the only good man left in the world.

So you could imagine the surprise on her face when she popped her tiny face around the corner and saw, despite the ridiculous odds, _him._

A thousand thoughts ran through her head right then, her whole body practically shook she felt so overwhelmed with joy and excitement as she saw her friend. Her face also tinted a bit red as another emotion fluttered through her stomach, one that stopped her dead in her tracks before calling out his name.

And to top it off, a moment of even more surprise as she felt the strong hand of her father on her shoulder.

"Arrietty," he said softly, his face ever grim, "wait."

"Father?"

000

He managed to make it in time, with barely a spare second to compose himself for putting a hand on her shoulder, confronting her for what was most likely going to be the last discussion on the matter of the boy.

Either she would move on, here and now, forever, or she would decide that Sho was the thing she truly wanted most. Cast aside safety for happiness that may not last forever.

He immediately assumed that his wonderful, loyal daughter... would choose Him.

"Listen." She nodded, eyes wide in fear of her father's judgement. "Your mother and I love you. And we want what's best for you. We want you to be happy. And I _hoped _you would move on with life. Your mother _hoped _you would move on. But we both want something else more."

She nodded quickly again, her eyes shifting to Sho for a moment. Pod didn't miss the gleam, the want, in her eyes, even though the moment lasted only a second.

"Pay attention," he said, nearly snapping. She stood rigidly at attention, her hands behind her back. Pod grinned slightly. She was still so _young. _"We wish you would stay with us. Your mother would be devastated if you suddenly disappeared, and I would be a little disappointed. But never the less," he added quickly as he saw her will to fight for herself fade from her eyes, "We want you to be happy. You make the choice here."

Pod knew something else in his heart. He knew that growing up required making the decisions, and right or wrong didn't matter. It was a learning experience, as was the rest of life. And his daughter's life mattered more than what _could _go wrong. And he hoped all those _coulds _swimming through his head wouldn't make him change his mind.

000

What?

The realization of what he said, word for word, took a few moments to dawn on her, and her eyes widened, her jaw slackened and dropped slightly. A slight gasp passed by her lips and her whole body, full of tension one second ago, was over come with relief.

"YES! Oh, thank you father, thank you so much!" she screeched loudly, jumping forward across the stub sticking out of the tree that they stood on to hug him forcefully.

Two things happened right then.

First of all, the screech was so apparent that Sho looked over to see the second thing. Two tiny people, a broad mini-man and an adorable girl that he... ahem... was great friends with, fall _off _said knot in the tree. From about six and a half feet up.

The human lunged forward, twisting his body awkwardly over the large root he was leaning against to catch the small Borrowers.

"Sho!" Arrietty cried as she careened, clinging to her father's sleeve.

Luckily, he managed to catch them about a foot from the ground, and his own body collapsed to the ground over the root. That allowed their momentum to be slowed and stopped as his own body thudded.

He shot up with surprising speed and spunk, something he was not famous for.

"Arrietty! Are you alright!" The girl smiled sweetly and clung to his thumb as tightly as she could.

"Yes! Yes! I'm alright! I'm amazing! Oh Sho, I've missed you so much!" She pulled away for a moment, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "And thanks for catching me..."

Sho grinned, but it faded fast as the man in his hands groaned and lifted his head.

"Father!" Arrietty cried.

"I'm fine. What...?" Pod slowly eyed the man carrying them. It was definitely the boy, and he _had _saved them. He stood up and brushed himself off, and finally offered a nod in thanks. "Me and my wife live near here, five trees east and one north, the one with the camoflauged door. It's not actually that hard to miss, but it keeps animals..." he paused and eyed the boy again, but quickly got over his silly distaste for the moment, "At the moment, I'm not sure where Arrietty lives." He raised an eyebrow, and Arrietty blushed a furious red.

Sho also raised an eyebrow, but gave his small, content smile. He was holding _Arrietty_. She was, (in a sense) in his arms. He felt... warm. A fire inside him and it made him grin like an idiot. So he carried them in the direction Pod had given him.

"Father!" she hissed, staring at her feet.

"The decision is yours to make, here and now."

Arrietty looked up at Sho, who was silently watching her every move, then back to her father. She gave a nod, and walked back to Sho's thumb, hugging it.

Sho bent down in front of the house, covered in dozens of twigs and branches, almost like a nest. Pod hopped off his hand and saluted, and Sho waited for the cute little girl to jump from his palm. Then he would ask to talk to her, discuss everything he'd done and felt over the last year, talk about the surgery, his healing, his newer, more free lifestyle...

But she didn't get off his hand. She stayed glued to his thumb for a moment, before unlatching slowly and looking up at him.

"Sho... my father has given me a choice."

**A/N AHA! Another cliffhanger. Why? I'm tired. I'm a bully. And I feel this chapter is, cause it was, RUSHED. But I think I covered everything. Next chapter is pretty obvious whats going to happen, and includes Arrietty's mother's opinion. (can't remember her name, please write it in the reviews you lovely people make, I'm lazy :P) Any critiques out there? Advise for things I ought to include? Seriously. I live to learn + write. THIS CHAPTER IS SO LONG. HOLY CRAP. AND TERRIBLE. I DON'T DESERVE YOUR REVIEWS/LOVE! A little jumpy, so don't say that, I KNOW that, like I said, rushed. Anyhow, I wish life were as simple a single decision. I love Arrietty's 'surprise face' by the way. It's. SO. CUTE. BLAGLSDJJASRG. Hope you enjoyed.**


End file.
